Greetings, my name is Dr. Rick Wadsworth, a self-funded, self-directed homeless advocate and educator in Salt Lake City. I have spent nearly a year doing “man-on-the-street” interviews with the homeless to ascertain their needs, learn their struggles, understand their culture, and figure out where the gaps exist in government policy. What I have discovered is that the symptoms of homelessness are being addressed (i.e. lack of food & shelter) instead of the causes of it (i.e. childhood trauma, family dysfunction, poor role-models, incarceration, inability to manage emotions, drug addiction, etc.). As a result, many are stuck at the bottom and the problem only getting worse.
This outreach has 3 audiences in mind—1) the public who needs to see the homeless with more accuracy—less fear—and increased compassion 2) the politicians who only focus on resource-distribution instead of changing thinking & behavior patterns that are essential for transformation and long-term success and lastly, 3) the homeless who need to learn life-skills, emotion-regulation, holistic healing, self-compassion through trauma recovery work, 12-step principles, and strength-based counseling. Additionally, many need to learn goal-setting & keeping, accountability, money-management, and for some, pro-social skills. Trust and attachment issues go hand-in-hand with homelessness, and there are few they trust or feel connected to.*This Psychology Today article mirrors my observations 100%.
Like each of us, the homeless need to understand their divine worth & potential and how to connect with their Higher Power in order to receive strength, drive, direction, and the ability to move ahead and succeed. This understanding—coupled with specific education and adequate wrap-around services—is necessary to reduce homelessness and create total life-transformation instead of merely satisfying the basic needs for food and shelter. If we only feed the stomach and not the brain and the spirit, then we are effectively keeping people on insufferable life-support.
This site is a call-to-arms to: 1) create public awareness 2) generate discussion 3) offer free educational skills to supplement current homeless practices 4) generate small & large dollar donations for supplies and to 5) locate a free venue to teach homeless classes in.
In order to fix homelessness, new channels of learning and insight must open up for all parties involved—the public, the politicians, and those living on the streets—and resources directed accordingly. Please join me in this critical venture to bless & save lives that are literally hanging in the balance because of freezing temperatures, violence, abuse, suicide and overdose. Keep reading & clicking and welcome aboard.
*This song—along with others on this site—contains a specific message:
